Microsoft warns of IE7 lock-in with XP SP3

[Dashken]

Microsoft Corp. has warned users updating to Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) that they won't be able to downgrade from Internet Explorer 7 to the older IE6 without uninstalling the service pack.

The warning first appeared in a post Monday to a company blog written by the Internet Explorer development team. Microsoft released Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update as an optional download Tuesday.

"If you choose to install XP SP3, Internet Explorer 7 will remain on your system after the install is complete," said Jane Maliouta, an IE program manager, in the blog entry. "Your preferences will be retained. However, you will no longer be able to uninstall IE7. If you go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, the Remove option will be grayed out."

The inability to downgrade to IE6 after installing XP SP3 was by design, said Maliouta, because the service pack includes newer versions of the old browser's files. If Microsoft had allowed users to revert back to the pre-SP3 version of IE6 -- the one saved on users' PCs when they upgraded to IE7, and what was used until now to back out of the newer browser -- Windows would have ended up in a "mixed file state," Maliouta said.

"This state is not supported and is very bug prone. To ensure a reliable user experience, we prevent this broken state by disabling the ability to uninstall Internet Explorer 7," she said.

Users who want to retain the ability to downgrade from IE7 to IE6 should uninstall the former before upgrading to XP SP3. Once Windows XP has been updated to SP3, users can then install IE7. That process allows for reverting to IE6 in the future.

"The restriction on uninstalling only applies to when you install a Windows Service Pack release on top of a stand-alone IE release," Maliouta said.

If Windows XP SP3 has already been installed, the only way to return to IE6 is to first uninstall the service pack. At that point, IE6 can be restored on a PC that's been updated to IE7.

Microsoft released IE7 in October 2006; it was the first major update to Internet Explorer since August 2001, when IE6 went final.

The newer browser has not been able to usurp IE6, particularly in businesses, where it remains Microsoft's most popular browser. According to a survey released in late March by Forrester Research Inc., only 30% of corporate Internet Explorer users had switched to IE7 by the end of 2007. IE6 accounted for nearly all the remaining 70%.

Maliouta also outlined how Windows XP SP3 upgrades affect in-place copies of IE6 and IE7. In both cases, she said, the currently installed browser remains undisturbed by the update.

However, users who have installed IE8 Beta 1 -- a preview of its newest browser that hit the streets two months ago -- will not be offered Windows XP SP3, according to Maliouta, again because of possible instability problems.

"We strongly recommend uninstalling IE8 Beta 1 prior to upgrading to Windows XP SP3 to eliminate any deployment issues," she said, "and install IE8 Beta 1 after XP SP3 is on your machine."

Source: Microsoft warns of IE7 lock-in with XP SP3

[g0tanks]

Read about this earlier, imo it's not a big deal. If you're going to use IE anyway, might as well go with IE7 then.

[Mac Daddy]

I really don't see this as a big issue either .... now IE7 will open my MSN mail instead of IE6. If it wasn't for my long standing MSN mail account I wouldn't have to use IE at all

[g0tanks]

Originally Posted by Mac Daddy

I really don't see this as a big issue either .... now IE7 will open my MSN mail instead of IE6. If it wasn't for my long standing MSN mail account I wouldn't have to use IE at all

You can install the StuffPlug plugin for WLM, there's an option for opening your mail with your default browser.

[Mac Daddy]

Originally Posted by g0tanks

You can install the StuffPlug plugin for WLM, there's an option for opening your mail with your default browser.

Interesting will check that out and thanks

[LaTorre]

Unfortunately, got too late to know about it all.

I simply followed the option given by "Windows-update" and installed the service-pack 3.

That was a big shit, my pc stayed blocked totally and cannot boot up completely, simply on xp-logo starts anew and repeats and repeats.

So i have to re-install the whole system, with all the applications and activate it with a new code, using the molesting phone-call to microsoft.

thats awful time-costing shit.

anybody with better idea ??

i never understood how to handle the repair-console, offered on booting up with the windows-installation-cd.

sorry about bad explain, i'm not an englishman.

greetings from a new member from tenerife-canary islands

[JMMD]

Originally Posted by LaTorre

Unfortunately, got too late to know about it all.

I simply followed the option given by "Windows-update" and installed the service-pack 3.

That was a big shit, my pc stayed blocked totally and cannot boot up completely, simply on xp-logo starts anew and repeats and repeats.

So i have to re-install the whole system, with all the applications and activate it with a new code, using the molesting phone-call to microsoft.

thats awful time-costing shit.

anybody with better idea ??

i never understood how to handle the repair-console, offered on booting up with the windows-installation-cd.

sorry about bad explain, i'm not an englishman.

greetings from a new member from tenerife-canary islands

If you have an HP PC with an AMD CPU there's supposed to be an unofficial fix for this problem.

PC World - Business Center: HP Confirms XP SP3 Endless Reboot Snafu, Promises Patch

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by LaTorre

Unfortunately, got too late to know about it all.

I simply followed the option given by "Windows-update" and installed the service-pack 3.

That was a big shit, my pc stayed blocked totally and cannot boot up completely, simply on xp-logo starts anew and repeats and repeats.

So i have to re-install the whole system, with all the applications and activate it with a new code, using the molesting phone-call to microsoft.

thats awful time-costing shit.

anybody with better idea ??

i never understood how to handle the repair-console, offered on booting up with the windows-installation-cd.

sorry about bad explain, i'm not an englishman.

greetings from a new member from tenerife-canary islands

Yeah, that was a reported problem with the initial release of SP3. That's why Microsoft postponed the release while they fixed the bug. It should have been fixed.

You can try a repair-install. Just boot up using the CD and choose to install Windows XP. It will detect your current Windows XP installation and ask you if you wish to repair the installation. Choose to repair the installation.